Safety guard for carpet cutter

ABSTRACT

A safety guard for a portable carpet cutter having shields covering a substantial portions of both sides of the cutting blade.

United States Patent Inventor Charles N. Smith Athens, Ala. 767,226 Oct. 14, 1968 Apr. 13, 1971 Monsanto Company St. Louis, Mo.

Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee SAFETY GUARD FOR CARPET CUTTER 3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 30/286,

30/ 139 Int. Cl B26b 29/00 Field of Search 30/ 138,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,357,075 10/1920 Morris 30/276 2,033,939 3/1936 Jeppsson 30/139 2,617,186 11/1952 Pickles 30/276X 3,148,448 9/ l 964 Gragg Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr Attorneys-James H. Barksdale, Jr, Robert L. Broad, Jr and Roy R Wymbs ABSTRACT: A safety guard for a portable carpet cutter having shields covering a substantial portions of both sides of the cutting blade.

Patented April 13, 1971 3,514,939

INVENTOR. CHARLES N. SMITH ATTORNEY SAFETY GUARD FOR CARPET CUTTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a safety guard or shield for a portable carpet cutter having a rotary blade, and more particularly to shields covering substantially both sides of the blade.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore, carpet cutters of the rotary blade type have suffered from lack of safety devices. On some, the guide rod has been the sole means of preventing accidents such as severed electrical cords which supply power to the cutter and which damage the blade upon being cut, and of utmost importance, injury to the user such as cuts and loss of body members. One of the possible reasons for lack of safety devices on cutters of the type herein contemplated may be expense. Another may be the hampering of use. Prior to this invention, the situation-has been tolerated with the result being injury and/or damage, or loss of time, and consequently increased costs due to the user having to be careful and thus operating the cutter slower.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, theabove disadvantages are overcome and portable carpet cutters are rendered safe by providing a guard for the blade which shields substantially both sides of the blade and conforms to existing structure.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a unique cutter guard which is simple and inexpensive.

Another object of this invention is to improve the safety features of the cutter in order that the user may be more efficient without worrying about personal injury and damage to the cutter.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a simple safety guard which will not interfere with the use of the cutter.

These and other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent when read in conjunction with the remainder of the specification and considered along with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a view of one side of the carpet cutter showing the safety guard of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the other side of the carpet cutter showing the safety guard which is the subject of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Like reference numerals refer to like parts in the several views.

, The carpet cutting machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and generally denoted by reference numeral '1 is made up of a housing 2 having therein a power means being an electric motor, a handle 3 having an on-off switch 4 mounted thereon, a cord 5 to supply power to the motor, a guide means 6, a sharpening means 7, a baseplate 8 maintained by baseplate support means 9, and a circular cutting blade ll.

The safety shield, which is the subject of this invention, is generally denoted by reference numeral 10 and is comprised of faceplates l2 and 15. Referring specifically to FIG. 1, faceplate 12 forms a shield for one side of the blade and has an arcuate cutout portion 17 to accommodate sharpening means 7, and an arcuate cutout portion 26 to accommodate shaft hub 18. The bottom surfaces 19 of safety shield 10 are planar and are parallel to baseplate 8 with the distance between 19 and 8 conforming to the greatest desired thickness of the carpet to be cutv As is the case'above, the remaining peripheral surfaces of faceplate 12 also conform to existing structure and cover as much of the cutting blade as possible, with back end 20 thereof overlapping baseplate support 9 and being secured thereto by screws 21 or other suitable means, and with leading edge or end 14 preferably extending beyond guide means 6. End 14 may terminate between guide means 6 and cutting blade 11 as long as a sufficient portion of blade I] is shielded.

Referring to FIG. 2 faceplate 15, which is positioned on a side of cutting blade 11 opposite faceplate l2 and which forms a shield therefor, has an arcuate cutout 24' to accommodate sharpening means 7 (being the counterpart of cutout 17 on faceplate l2), and an arcuate cutout 25 to accommodate extensions 16 of housing 2, said extension containing drive means for cutting blade I]. The bottom surface 27 of faceplate I5 is planar and is the counterpart of bottom surfaces 19 of faceplate 12. Back end 30 overlaps support 9 and is secured thereto by screws 13 or other suitable means. End or leading edge 28 is the counterpart of end 14 of faceplate 12. The remaining peripheral configuration of faceplate I5 conforms to existing structure and covers as much of cutting blade 11 as possible.

To provide for vertical movement of guide means 6, a spacer 23 may be necessary between faceplates l2 and 15 at ends 14 and 28, respectively, with ends 14 and 28 being bonded or otherwise secured to spacer 23.

Spacers 22 and 29 can also be incorporated should the distance between faceplates l2 and 15 need to be increased.

Having thus described the invention, it is easily appreciated that in operation there is little likelihood of the cord 5 being severed or of blade 11 causing injury to the operator or user.

The foregoing illustrates the essential features of the invention as wellas the manner in which it'may be practiced. Various changes and modifications may be made in practicing the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore, the invention should not be limited except as defined in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

I. In combination with a portable carpet cutter of the type having a housing, a motor within said housing, a blade connected to said motor, guide means connected to said housing at the forward part thereof, a baseplate support coupled to said housing, a baseplate secured to said support and a sharpening means associated with said blade, the improvement which comprises a first faceplate covering substantially all of one side of said blade, said first faceplate having an arcuate cutout portion to accommodate the sharpening means and at least one other arcuate cutout portion formed upon said first faceplate to accommodate the shaft of said motor, and a second faceplate covering substantially all of the other side of the blade, said second faceplate having an arcuate cutout portion to accommodate the sharpening means and at least one other arcuate cutout portion formed upon said second faceplate to accommodate an extension of said housing, said first and second faceplates having a planar surface extending along and parallel to said baseplate, said first and second faceplates being at a distance from the baseplate conforming to the greatest thickness of a carpet to be cut, said first and second faceplates having leading edges and overlapping portions connected to the baseplate support.

2. A safety guard according to claim 1 wherein the leading edges of the faceplates extend beyond the guide means.

3. A safety guard according to claim 1 wherein said leading edges are terminated between said guide means and blade. 

1. In combination with a portable carpet cutter of the type having a housing, a motor within said housing, a blade connected to said motor, guide means connected to said housing at the forward part thereof, a baseplate support coupled to said housing, a baseplate secured to said support and a sharpening means associated with said blade, the improvement which comprises a first faceplate covering substantially all of one side of said blade, said first faceplate having an arcuate cutout portion to accommodate the sharpening means and at least one other arcuate cutout portion formed upon said first faceplate to accommodate the shaft of said motor, and a second faceplate covering substantially all of the other side of the blade, said second faceplate having an arcuate cutout portion to accommodate the sharpening means and at least one other arcuate cutout portion formed upon said second faceplate to accommodate an extension of said housing, said first and second faceplates having a planar surface extending along and parallel to said baseplate, said first and second faceplates being at a distance from the baseplate conforming to the greatest thickness of a carpet to be cut, said first and second faceplates having leading edges and overlapping portions connected to the baseplate support.
 2. A safety guard according to claim 1 wherein the leading edges of the faceplates extend beyond the guide means.
 3. A safety guard according to claim 1 wherein said leading edges are terminated between said guide means and blade. 